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Lowest Tornado Count In 10 Years

By Chief Meteorologist Larry MowrySeptember 10, 2013 9:40 PM

This year has been a relatively quiet year in terms of the number of tornadoes. There have certainly been large tornadoes. Here in North Texas on May 15, 2013, there were 19 tornadoes including the large Granbury and Cleburne tornadoes. There was also the widest tornado on record that struck El Reno, Oklahoma. That tornado was measured to be 2.6 miles wide.

But overall, the tornado count is the lowest it has been up to this point in the year since 2002.

The chart above shows the number of tornadoes in the US thru August 20th of each of the past 13 years. In 2011, there were 1,532 tornadoes thru August 20th. Compare that to this year there have been 610 tornadoes reported thru August 20th. The average tornado count thru August 20th is 984.

TEXAS TORNADO COUNT

In the state of Texas we have seen 69 tornadoes thru the end of June. (Official numbers haven’t been tabulated yet for July or August). The ten-year average is 103. So we have seen only about 2/3 the average number of tornadoes so far this year.

NORTH TEXAS TORNADO COUNT

Here is a look at the tornado count just here in North Texas over the past three years. 19 of the 23 tornadoes that have occurred this year happened on May 15, 2013.

Of course, numbers don’t mean anything to those who were affected by tornadoes. Many people are still recovering in Granbury and Cleburne from the tornadoes.